The chief justice of the California Supreme Court will deliver the commencement address at UC Irvine School of Law on May 11. Fortunately, the UCI School of Law has informed the Weekly who that is: Tani Cantil-Sakauye. Truth be told, Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye was sworn in on Jan. 3, 2011, becoming the first Asian-Filipina American and the second woman to serve as the state's chief justice.

The Sacramento-born jurist has served for more than 20 years on California appellate and trial courts. She'd served as deputy legal affairs secretary and as a deputy legislative secretary for Governor George Deukmejian, and he appointed her to the Sacramento Municipal Court in 1990. Seven years later, Governor Pete Wilson elevated her to the Superior Court of Sacramento County, and in 2005 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger nominated her to the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District. The Governator nominated her the state's chief justice in 2010.

That was a year after UCI's law school opened, and Cantil-Sakauye will be speaking at the school's second-ever commencement, in which 84 students are expected to participate.